Freshmen wrestlers older than they seem

Now better prepared for state experience

By Mike Brohard Sports Editor

Posted:
02/18/2013 09:12:49 PM MST

Vlad Kazakov of Thompson Valley High School enters the state wrestling tournament this weekend ranked fourth in the state at 106 pounds in Class 4A. Unlike a decade ago, freshmen like Kazakov enter the field with a lot more experience. (Steve Stoner)

The words come from confidence, which is rather assuring from someone so young.

For Vlad Kazakov, Thompson Valley High School's 106-pounder, this weekend should not be much different from others he has spent on a wrestling mat in his lifetime.

"State is going to be really hard," said the Eagles freshman who enters the draw as a regional champion and ranked fourth in the state. "Everybody is ranked, and there aren't going to be any easy matches. I'll treat it like any other tournament. I'll try to stay focused and not worry about who I'm wrestling."

Sounds easy enough.

In the past, coaches would hear their freshmen qualifiers say words to the same effect, all the while knowing they really had no idea what awaited them. The aura of the Pepsi Center, or McNichols Arena before it. The bright lights, the 10 mats on the floor. It can be overwhelming, and once the deer-in-the-headlights look was wiped off their faces, things would be fine.

That was then. Now, wrestlers like Kazakov, his TVHS teammates Parker Simington and Patton Graff, as well as Berthoud's Jimmy Fate and Chad Ellis, are a lot more prepared for the step to high school wrestling, even ones required to be around on the final day of the season.

When Simington, ranked fifth at 138, wrestled his first prep match this season, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

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"No. I feel like I've gotten competition pretty much every where I've gone," he said. "I felt like it was just another step.

"All the tournaments -- Thompson Valley has a really tough schedule -- and I've been doing Rocky Mountain Nationals my whole life. I think I'm ready for anything that comes."

All came in with expectations, and most of them have been ranked all season. In short, Berthoud coach Scott Pickert has no concerns at all about his pair as Thursday approaches.

"I won't worry about Jimmy and Chad at all, because they've been wrestling so long, they've been wrestling big tournaments," Pickert said. "It's just another big tournament for them. I think they'll be composed and be ready to go."

The key these days are wrestlers are getting so many more matches at a younger age, long before they enter the halls of a high school. By the time they adopt the school colors, they've not only seen the best the state has to offer, but in many cases, the nation.

"It's not like we haven't been in huge arenas," Ellis said after winning the 145-pound Region 2 title on Saturday. "Both of us were varsity football players, been with our team all year and been to big place. UNC (the Northern Colorado Holiday Tournament) is a great example. There were a bunch of people there, and (state) is a smaller bracket. All the national experience we have helps."

Thompson Valley coach Dave Juergensen has a team that has aspirations of a top-three finish in the team race, and he knows he'll have to count on his trio of freshmen to help get it done. He's known that from the first day of practice, and, in fact, that first day has changed over the years.

With their skills far more advanced (Juergensen estimates they have three times the amount of matches under their belt than 10 years ago), the basics are brushed over and advanced techniques are more of a starting point, as well as working on match strategy.

On top of that, they know what to expect when they show up.

"They know how tow work already," Juergensen said. "That's the biggest difference. It's not a shock to go through our workouts as it was 10 years ago. They're used to the hard work and getting ready on a daily basis. They know what's expected of them already."

Still, even Fate realizes the state tournament will have a different feel to it, agreeing there is more on the line at this point of his career. As you get older, the stakes get higher, and placing at state is a bit more memorable than where he placed in Tulsa.

True, they are all young, but all of the experiences have taught them what it will take to succeed this weekend.

"We're in high school now instead of being little 12-and-unders," he said. "I don't think the crowd will get us as much as the experience. I don't remember exactly where I was ranked (to start the season), but I knew I was going to have to show up every match I wrestled. I've wrested 32 matches, and there have been very few that were not a dog fight."